Integrated fuel dispensing and accounting system

ABSTRACT

An interface system extends a prior-art fuel delivery pump and reservoir so that authorization to activate the fuel delivery pump can be obtained from a remote authorization service over a long-range wireless communication link such as a cellular telephone connection or a satellite connection; and delivered to the interface system over a different, short-range wireless communication link such as a Bluetooth® connection or a WiFi connection. The system is structured so that different data link devices can serve in one part of the communication chain. Other features and characteristics of the system are described and claimed.

CONTINUITY AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This is an original U.S. patent application.

FIELD

The invention relates to wireless communication systems for obtainingauthorization to activate a vending or dispensing system when certainconditions have been satisfied or preapproval given, and for reportinginformation about the product sold or dispensed upon such activation.

BACKGROUND

In the century (give or take) since the development of the liquid-fueledinternal combustion engine and vehicles based thereupon, a vastsupporting infrastructure of fuel production, refinement, distributionand sales has grown up. Some portions of the infrastructure are veryfamiliar to residents of industrialized countries: almost everyone hasat least a general understanding of how petroleum-based fuels areextracted, refined, delivered to local filling stations, pumped intovehicles and paid for. However, there are many non-standard niches inthe infrastructure—for example, for unusual fuels such as hydrogen,propane, liquid natural gas, kerosene or alcohol—and for deliveryoutside standard retail fueling stations.

One significant, if unfamiliar, niche is fleet fueling: the provision offuels to a fleet of commonly-owned and -operated vehicles, where anindividual vehicle “fill-up” may not correspond with a single commercialtransaction. Instead, the fleet operator may purchase a large quantityof fuel and deliver it to its vehicles through one or more privatepumping stations. Nevertheless, even if these pumps do not perform anindividual commercial transaction (e.g., by accepting cash or bysubmitting a credit-card authorization) they often must verify that thevehicle is authorized to obtain fuel from the station, or report fueldispensing so that replacement stock can be ordered and delivered beforethe tanks run dry.

A system that provides improved connectivity and reduced cost fornon-consumer/non-retail fueling stations may be of significant value inthis field.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention comprise general-purpose computing hardwareconfigured with software to perform a communications-interface function,and coupled with special-purpose electronic or electromechanicalhardware to control a prior-art “dumb” fuel-dispensing pump according toa new control and communications procedure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment, showing functional units andtheir interconnections with the complete system within which theembodiment operates.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow charts showing cooperating interactions betweentwo portions of an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of additional operations an expanded embodimentmay perform.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing another mode of operation of anembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a practical embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram illustrating how a device participating in anembodiment may be exchanged for a different device which fulfills thesame role.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention are add-on modules that extend thecapabilities of prior-art fuel dispensing pumps to include authorizationto operate and, in some embodiments, reporting of quantity dispensed andother information. Some embodiments may comprise a completefuel-dispensing system, including pumps, hoses, nozzles and tanks.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram including elements of an embodiment and itssurrounding environment. The simplest embodiment 100 includes ashort-range wireless transceiver 103, an electronically-controlledswitch 105 and a computing device 107 to coordinate the operations ofthe transceiver 103 and switch 105 according to a set of instructionsand data discussed below. Simple embodiment 100 may be coupled to anexisting fuel pump 113 and reservoir 115, or a more complete system 120according to the invention may include all of wireless transceiver 103,switch 105, computing device 107, fuel pump 113 and reservoir 115.

An embodiment (100 or 120) interacts with a separate portablecommunication device 130 that is brought into communication with theembodiment by a user 140, who may operate the combined system to obtainfuel for a vehicle 150. The embodiment (100 or 120) communicates withthe portable communication device 130 to authorize and/or account forfuel dispensed. The communication device 130 may have access to abroader distributed data network 160 such as the Internet, and theembodiment may use this access to communicate with a remote server forauthentication, accounting or other data-exchange purposes.

It is appreciated that a traditional fueling station may include manysimilar elements: a reservoir 115, pump 113, switch 105 and computingdevice 107; and some mechanism for communicating with a remote site forauthorizing payment. However, such systems are typically comprised of afixed set of components, whereas in an embodiment, the portable datacommunications device 130 with which the embodiment communicates isbrought to the site by a user and carried away by the user. A differentuser will bring a different data communications device, and theembodiment will use this second, different device instead of the first.An embodiment may not operate at all if the user fails to bring aportable data communication device, or it may only operate in alimited-functionality fallback mode. For example, in an autonomousfueling station, if no data communication device is available, fuel mayonly be provided to individuals who have a mechanical key to operate aphysical lock, or who have a secret code or PIN to activate the pump.

The data communication device provides a (possibly asynchronous) datalink, allowing information to travel between the fueling station and adistant control & operations center. Since the customer or consumersupplies the communication device, the fueling station need not includesuch capabilities itself and its cost may be reduced. In addition, incertain modes, the communication device can provide a time-shiftingfunction so that operations can proceed even though long-range datacommunications (via, e.g., a cellular telephone network) are notavailable at a remote fueling-station location where the embodiment isdeployed.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow charts outlining operations of cooperatingportions of an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2A describes theactivities of the “fueling station” portion, while FIG. 2B describes theactivities of the “consumer” portion.

Initially, both portions are in an idle state. When the consumer portioncomes within range of the short-range wireless transceivers of anembodiment, a connection is established (200, 205). Either side mayinitiate the connection. A preferred wireless connection is a Bluetooth®connection. Other suitable connections are WiFi and infrared.Preferably, the connection is low power, has a range less than about 20m, and uses hardware features that are widely available on commonportable data communication devices such as cellular telephones,tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and laptop computers.

Once a short-range connection is established, the fueling stationsolicits a vending authorization from the connected portable datacommunication device (210). The communication device receives thisrequest (220) and establishes a separate wireless connection (230) witha remote server whose operations are not shown here. The communicationdevice receives a vending authorization from the remote server via theseparate wireless connection (240) and delivers the authorization to thefueling station via the short-range connection (250).

The fueling station receives the authorization (260) and checks it forvalidity (270). If it is valid (273), then a signal is given to avending mechanism, causing it to deliver product to the consumer. Forexample, an embodiment may close an electronically-activated switch(105) that energizes a pump (113) to deliver fuel from a reservoir(115). If the authorization is invalid (276), then the fueling stationmay repeat the attempt to obtain a vending authorization (210) or simplyterminate the transaction. When a transaction is completed (eithersuccessfully or unsuccessfully), the data connection over theshort-range wireless communication link is terminated.

It is important in an embodiment that the functions of the consumerportion (i.e., those of FIG. 2B) may be performed by different devices.That is, not only should two different individuals' cell phones operatesatisfactorily in this role, but one individual's laptop computer shouldbe able to replace another individual's cell phone.

The consumer role is typically implemented by data and instructions tocause a programmable processor to perform the operations described. Theprogrammable processor is typically a component of a consumer's portablecommunication device, which may be a cell phone, satellite phone, PDA,or other device having suitable capabilities. For example, some vehiclesnow include both short-range wireless connectivity (e.g., Bluetooth® orWiFi) and satellite or cellular connectivity. Such a vehicle—equippedwith suitable software—would be able to participate in an embodiment.

It is appreciated that the operations by which the consumer deviceobtains the vending authorization (i.e., 230 & 240) may be performedasynchronously with the operations of delivering such authorization tothe fueling station. For example, in a remote location where a separatewireless connection cannot be established, the consumer's portablecommunication device may deliver a previously-acquired vendingauthorization via the short-range wireless connection.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing operations of a more-sophisticatedfueling-station embodiment. (The consumer portion interacts as describedhere, but its operations are not depicted in the flow chart.)

As before, a short-range wireless communication channel is established(200). The vending authorization is solicited (210) and received (260),and if it is valid, the vending mechanism is signaled to dispense theproduct (280). This embodiment also monitors the product being dispensed(300). For example, it may measure a number of gallons of liquid fueldelivered by the pump or cubic feet of gas permitted to exit apressurized tank. Other information may also be collected: time of day,environmental conditions, system status, reservoir state, and so on.This information may be reported to the portable data communicationdevice over the short-range wireless connection (310). The datacommunication device may in turn report the information to a centraloperations server immediately, or later when a long-range communicationchannel becomes available. To prevent tampering with the report from thefueling station, the reported data may be signed with a cryptographichash to prevent undetected alteration, or the entire report may beencrypted.

An embodiment may also include a provisioning function, as outlined inFIG. 4. Again, a short-range wireless communication channel isestablished (200), but in this sequence of operations, the computingdevice enters a provisioning mode (400), perhaps as a result ofreceiving such a command from the connected portable communicationdevice. The embodiment may request an amount of product to be delivered(410) and/or be informed of the amount the provisioner will deliver(420).

The vending mechanism is signaled to receive product (430). For example,a two-way electronically controlled switch may be activated to operate apump in reverse, transferring liquid fuel from a delivery tank into thestorage reservoir. The computing device may monitor the product thusdelivered (440) and report the results and conditions of delivery viathe short-range wireless communication channel (450). These data may becryptographically signed and/or encrypted, as before. The deliveryresults may be transmitted to a central operations server immediately orlater by the portable data communications device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the invention.The heart of the embodiment is a computer processor 500 including aprogrammable processor, volatile and non-volatile memory, and signalinginterfaces to communicate with other modules. The programmable processoroperates according to instructions and data stored in the memories toperform methods as outlined in the foregoing flow charts. Amicrocontroller integrating the processor, memories and input/output(“I/O”) interfaces is a preferred choice for computer processor 500. Amicrocontroller such as a member of the PIC32MX3××/4×× series ofhigh-performance MIPS32® M4K® 32-bit RISC processors from manufacturerMicrochip Technology Inc. will work well.

Processor 500 can access at least one short-range wireless communicationinterface. In this figure, both Bluetooth® and WiFi interfaces (510,520) are shown. This embodiment also includes a user display 530, whichmay be, for example, an LED or LCD unit. The display can presentinstructions and status information to a user.

The embodiment includes an electronically-controlled vending switch 540.This may be, for example, a solid-state or electromechanical relay, andit may function as a contact closure device to activate a pump or otherdispensing mechanism, or it may itself complete a circuit between apower supply such as a 120VAC or 240VAC power source and a pump,electronically-controlled valve or other device that operates using suchpower. An electromechanical relay such as the TE Connectivity Ltd.T9AS1D12-12 (12V coil, 30A contacts) is suitable.

The embodiment may also include a volume detection device (a liquid orgas flow meter) 550, or it may only provide an input interface toreceive data from an existing flow meter that is part of a larger systemwhere the embodiment is installed. In either case, volume detectiondevice 550 permits the embodiment to acquire information about theamount of product being dispensed.

An embodiment may also include a keypad for entering information, or amechanical override such as a keyed lock. However, in a preferredembodiment, the system communicates with a data communication devicesuch as a cell phone or PDA over the short-range wireless communicationlink, and all user input and display functions are performed bycooperating software executing on the data communication device.

Note that the software (data and instructions) controlling computerprocessor 500 are separate and distinct from the software (data andinstructions) that execute on the data communications device. In someembodiments, processor 500 may store a copy of the data communicationsdevice software locally, and transmit this software to the datacommunications device if it is not installed there already. In otherembodiments, the consumer-side software may be obtained from adistribution site such as an “app store.” Note also that there arelikely to be different implementations of the consumer side software tosuit the device(s) on which these programs are intended to execute. Forexample, an Android® phone would use different software than an Apple®iPhone®. However, either phone—configured with suitable software—couldserve as the data communication device in an embodiment because eitherone would implement the appropriate protocols to interact with computerprocessor 500.

FIG. 6 is another block diagram showing how two different datacommunication devices may fill the same role (at different times) in theoperation of an embodiment. The fueling station portion of theembodiment 600 is as described previously: a programmable processor 602controls a short-range wireless transceiver 604 and a switch 606, whichin turn controls a pump 608. At various times, fueling station 600 maybe in communication with one portable data communication device 610 or adifferent portable data communication device 620. Each datacommunication device comprises its own programmable processor 612, 622;a short-range wireless transceiver 614, 624 that can communicate withtransceiver 604; a different wireless interface 616, 626 such as acellular network interface or a satellite interface; and a userinterface 618, 628 such as a touch-screen or a screen and keyboard.

Also depicted in this figure are some elements of a control center 630:yet another programmable processor 632, a data interface 635 forcommunicating over a distributed data network 660 such as the Internet,and a database 637 for storing information about the state andoperations of the system.

Each of the programmable processors operates according to data andinstructions that cause the processor to perform operations along thelines described above. At some times, processor 602 may communicate withprocessor 612 over a connection between short-range wireless interfaces604 and 614, while at other times processor 602 may communicate withprocessor 624 over a connection between short-range wireless interfaces604 and 624. In either event, the system can interact with the personwho brought the data communication device in range of the short-rangewireless interfaces via messages and input on user interface 618 or 628.

The data communication device in use can communicate with programmableprocessor 632 via its own “different wireless” interface (616 or 626),through the distributed data network 660, and the control center 630′sdata interface 635. In some situations, data from fueling station 600may be passed through to control center 630 by one of 610 or 620; ordata from control center 630 may be passed back to fueling station 600in the opposite direction. In particular, when portable datacommunications device 610 or 620 provides a vending authorization tofueling station 600, it is an example of information being passed fromcontrol center 630 to fueling station 600.

Several different data connections are shown in this figure: short-rangewireless connections 641 and 642, and a different wireless connection650 between portable data communications device 610 and control center630. (Portable data communications device 620 may also communicate withcontrol center 630, but this connection is not indicated in the figure.)

An embodiment of the invention may be a machine-readable medium,including without limitation a non-transient machine-readable medium,having stored thereon data and instructions to cause a programmableprocessor to perform operations as described above. In otherembodiments, the operations might be performed by specific hardwarecomponents that contain hardwired logic. Those operations mightalternatively be performed by any combination of programmed computercomponents and custom hardware components.

Instructions for a programmable processor may be stored in a form thatis directly executable by the processor (“object” or “executable” form),or the instructions may be stored in a human-readable text form called“source code” that can be automatically processed by a development toolcommonly known as a “compiler” to produce executable code. Instructionsmay also be specified as a difference or “delta” from a predeterminedversion of a basic source code. The delta (also called a “patch”) can beused to prepare instructions to implement an embodiment of theinvention, starting with a commonly-available source code package thatdoes not contain an embodiment.

In some embodiments, the instructions for a programmable processor maybe treated as data and used to modulate a carrier signal, which cansubsequently be sent to a remote receiver, where the signal isdemodulated to recover the instructions, and the instructions areexecuted to implement the methods of an embodiment at the remotereceiver. In the vernacular, such modulation and transmission are knownas “serving” the instructions, while receiving and demodulating areoften called “downloading.” In other words, one embodiment “serves”(i.e., encodes and sends) the instructions of an embodiment to a client,often over a distributed data network like the Internet. Theinstructions thus transmitted can be saved on a hard disk or other datastorage device at the receiver to create another embodiment of theinvention, meeting the description of a non-transient machine-readablemedium storing data and instructions to perform some of the operationsdiscussed above. Compiling (if necessary) and executing such anembodiment at the receiver may result in the receiver performingoperations according to a third embodiment.

In the preceding description, numerous details were set forth. It willbe apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the presentinvention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Insome instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring thepresent invention.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions may have been presented interms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on databits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desiredresult. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the preceding discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored inthe computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, including without limitation any type of diskincluding floppy disks, optical disks, compact disc read-only memory(“CD-ROM”), and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs),random access memories (RAMs), eraseable, programmable read-onlymemories (“EPROMs”), electrically-eraseable read-only memories(“EEPROMs”), magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitablefor storing computer instructions.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structurefor a variety of these systems will be recited in the claims below. Inaddition, the present invention is not described with reference to anyparticular programming language. It will be appreciated that a varietyof programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of theinvention as described herein.

The applications of the present invention have been described largely byreference to specific examples and in terms of particular allocations offunctionality to certain hardware and/or software components. However,those of skill in the art will recognize that liquid fuel and otherproducts can also be dispensed and accounted for by software andhardware that distribute the functions of embodiments of this inventiondifferently than herein described. Such variations and implementationsare understood to be captured according to the following claims.

1. A system comprising: a short-range wireless transceiver; anelectronically-controlled switch; and a computing device coupled to theshort-range wireless transceiver and the electronically-controlledswitch, said computing device configured with instructions and data tocause the computing device to perform operations comprising:establishing a communication link with a data-link device via theshort-range wireless transceiver; receiving a vending authorization fromthe data-link device over the communication link, said vendingauthorization forwarded by the data-link device after receiving thevending authorization from a remote server via a second and differentwireless transceiver of the data-link device; activating theelectronically-controlled switch after receiving the vendingauthorization; deactivating the electronically-controlled switch after aproduct corresponding to the vending authorization is delivered; anddiscontinuing communications with the data-link device.
 2. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the computing device is configured with additionalinstructions and data to cause the system to repeat the establishing,receiving, activating, deactivating and discontinuing operations with asecond, different data-link device.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein thecomputing device is configured with additional instructions and data tocause the computing device to perform additional operations comprising:determining a quantity of product delivered while theelectronically-controlled switch was active; and reporting the quantityof product delivered to the data-link device.
 4. The system of claim 1wherein the electronically-controlled switch is a solid-state relay oran electromagnetic relay.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The system of claim 1 whereinthe electronically-controlled switch provides a contact-closurefunction.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronically-controlledswitch connects a pump to a power supply for the pump.
 8. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the short-range wireless transceiver is one of aBluetooth® transceiver or a WiFi transceiver.
 9. The system of claim 1,further comprising: a display coupled to the computing device, saiddisplay operative to present information to a user of the system. 10.The system of claim 1, further comprising: a pump coupled to theelectronically-controlled switch; and a reservoir coupled to the pump,said reservoir containing the product.
 11. At least one tangiblecomputer-readable medium containing a first set of data and instructionsto cause a first programmable processor to perform a first set ofoperations comprising: establishing a first wireless communications linkwith a second, different programmable processor; receiving a vendingauthorization from the second, different programmable processor over thefirst wireless communications link; and signaling a vending mechanism todispense a product corresponding to the vending authorization; the atleast one tangible computer-readable medium further containing a secondset of data and instructions to cause the second, different programmableprocessor to perform a second set of operations comprising: establishinga second, different wireless communication link with a third, differentprogrammable processor; receiving the vending authorization from thethird, different programmable processor via the second wirelesscommunication link; and transmitting the vending authorization to thefirst programmable processor via the first wireless communication link;wherein the first programmable processor is to communicate with thesecond, different programmable processor via a short-range wireless linkbetween a first wireless transceiver of the first programmable processorand a second wireless transceiver of the second programmable processor.12. The at least one tangible computer-readable medium of claim 11wherein the short-range wireless link is a Bluetooth® link or a WiFilink.
 13. The at least one tangible computer-readable medium of claim 11wherein the short-range wireless link is an infrared link.
 14. The atleast one tangible computer-readable medium of claim 11 containing athird set of instructions and data to cause a fourth, differentprogrammable processor to perform a third set of operations comprising:establishing a third, different wireless communication link with thefirst processor; establishing a fourth, different wireless communicationlink with the third, different programmable processor; receiving thevending authorization from the third, different programmable processorvia the fourth, different wireless communication link; and transmittingthe vending authorization to the first programmable processor via thethird, different wireless communication link; wherein the firstprogrammable processor is to communicate with the fourth, differentprogrammable processor via a short-range wireless link between the firstwireless transceiver of the first programmable processor and a thirdwireless transceiver of the fourth programmable processor.
 15. A systemcomprising: a microcontroller comprising a programmable processor,volatile and non-volatile memories, and a plurality of general-purposeinput/output (“GPIO”) lines controlled by the programmable processor inaccordance with instructions and data stored in the non-volatile memory;a short-range wireless transceiver coupled to the microcontroller by theGPIO lines and operative to exchange data with a data communicationdevice over a short-range wireless connection; an electrical switchcoupled to the microcontroller by at least one GPIO line and operativeto activate a pump, wherein the instructions and data stored in thenon-volatile memory cause the programmable processor to performoperations comprising: receiving a vending authorization from the datacommunication device over the short-range wireless connection, saidvending authorization transmitted from a remote server to the datacommunication device over a wireless connection different from theshort-range wireless connection and forwarded from the datacommunication device over the short-range wireless connection;activating the electrical switch to cause the pump to dispense a liquidfuel product; deactivating the electrical switch to cause the pump tocease dispensing the liquid fuel product; and terminating theshort-range wireless connection with the data communication device. 16.The system of claim 15, further comprising: a display coupled to themicrocontroller for presenting instructions to a user.
 17. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising: an input interface to receive data from avolume detection device.
 18. The system of claim 15, further comprising:a volume detection device coupled to the microcontroller.
 19. The systemof claim 15, further comprising: a remote server transmitting thevending authorization to the data communication device via a long-rangewireless connection; and the data communication device receiving thevending authorization from the remote server via a long-range wirelessinterface and forwarding the vending authorization to themicrocontroller via the short-range wireless connection.
 20. The atleast one tangible computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein atleast one is exactly one tangible computer-readable medium.
 21. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the data-link device receives the vendingauthorization from the remote server via the second and differentwireless transceiver while the communication link via the short-rangewireless transceiver is in operation.
 22. The system of claim 1 whereinthe computing device lacks a directly-connected interface to communicatedirectly with the remote server via a second and different wirelesschannel.